Article:

This paper introduces and discusses the first outcome of a recently created digitalfabrication laboratory at Favela da Maré, a slum in the North zone of Rio deJaneiro, Brazil. The lab called FavLab is a partnership between the João e MariaAleixo Institute, located inside Favela da Maré, and the Department ofArchitecture and Urbanism of PUC-Rio University. More specifically, it aims topresent the lab's first activity: a workshop devoted to create and fabricatemeaningful objects to the context of favela exploiting digital design andfabrication methods. Architecture undergraduates and local young residents notenrolled in the educational system participated in the studio. This paper aims todiscuss in details the experience of teaching for this particular group of students,as well as the impacts of the collaborative design between university and favelastudents to create interactive objects in a Brazilian community. The paper aims toreinforce and remark an innovative and inclusive approach to digital design andfabrication. This paper also attempts to discuss further developments and nextsteps towards more profound and broader collaboration between academia andfavelas' representatives.